"Pesonally," Twilight lectures her friends, "I think it would be in our best interests not to use this new magic too much until we know what it does, and how it works, EXACTLY. In other words, we'll test it's capabilities in a safe environment, so we don't get hurt." "LAME!" Rainbow exclaims, and Spike cuffs the prismatic pegasus upside the head. He turns to his lavender boss, and says, "I apologize for my roughness, Twilight." He turns back to Rainbow. "You know this is important, Ms. Dash. Do not use this strange magic until we have a safe environment set up."

"It's still lame," She mutters, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. Spike gives her a level stare, promising that she will regret trying out her new magic in an uncontrolled environment, not because of anything Spike might do, but because of something the magic might do, like give her guy junk. She sheepishly backs off, speaking in a low tone, "Of course, the danger is rather much, even for me."

Spike scoffs dismissively at Rainbow, returning to his task of straightening the books while everypony but Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity file out. Rarity pulls Twilight to the side, asking, "Should we not teach them how to properly use their new magic?" Twilight hears clearly the concern in her friend's voice, but dismisses it. "We'll cover that Friday, so for now, just try not to use that variation." Rarity reluctantly leaves, and Rainbow places a foreleg on Spike's shoulder, adopting a cocky grin, "So how about them sports?" "Which ones?" Spike promptly replies, to which Rainbows sputters. "Sorry," She apologizes, "But nopony ever really answers straight, they try to make something up."

A strange sound echoes from Spike's throat, and it takes Rainbow a minute to realize that Spike is laughing. "HOLY HOREAPPLES! Twilight! I've revived Spike's humor!" And just like that he stops. "Dammit, dude." With a huff, she yells out to Twilight again, "Never mind, it died again!"

"It does that." Spike responds simply.

"Shut up." Rainbow scowls at the dragon for a minute, scoffs, and flies away. Spike stares after her through the broken window. With a sigh, he grabs a broom and sweeps up the mess. "So, Twilight," He begins slowly, "What do you think that the strange magic actually does?" Twilight puts a hoof to her mouth, thinking about it as Spike pieces the window back together. "I'm not sure. It could be just like regular unicorn magic, only usable by all races so long as they're connected to the Elements of Harmony," Spike runs a claw over the cracks in the glass to make sure it's just right, "It could be the effects of some sort of parasite that latched onto us after we were weakened by using the Elements," Spike nods to himself, taking a deep breath, "And then there's the possibility that it's just our magics sharing themselves between us all, using the Elements as a conduit."

Spike breathes out, melting the glass and fusing the shards into a single pane once more. He wipes his mouth of the liquid dribbling from the side, and turns back to Twilight. "These are all certainly possible. However, Twilight, there is the possibility that the Elements are not so benevolent as they seem. Just before the sun rose, about when you used your Elements," He gestures to himself, "This happened. Maybe it had something to do with our own connection, the Elements cutting it off to make its own, or," He points up, "It might have a mind all its own, and does not want its precious bearers communing with a beastly dragon, and so is trying to alienate me with a change in appearance and mentality."

Twilight stares up at him. "I... But... WHAT?!" She slowly works herself into a panic, "But... That doesn't make sense, the elements turned Luna into a good pony... turned... pony... OH NO WHAT IF YOU'RE RIGHT?! WAIT!! YOU KNEW YOU WERE ACTING DIFFERENT?!" Spike grabs Twilights face, the whole thing fitting in his palm. "Calm," he simply states, waiting for her breathing to become regular again. Releasing her face, he explains.

"I knew I was acting differently. I went from a comic book geek to a rather... unamusing butler sort of personality overnight. That does not happen. That does not go unnoticed. Of course I knew. But, it felt right. I didn't try and be my old self. Yes, I still like comics and gems, but no, I will not actively pursue either unless I have the day off, unlike before." Twilight gawks. Not at anything in particular, but she gawks ahead. It's evident to Spike that she is processing all this, trying to remain calm like he'd asked.

She shakes herself free of her stupor, and Spike smiles happily. It's good to see her calm and collected after bad news, it does wonders for his- oh, no, she's tearing through the library like no tomorrow in search of dragon books. The smile falls of his face with a heaving, disappointed sigh. "Well. Alright, then. I will... clean. I suppose."

Several hours pass of Spike cleaning up the continually growing mess that Twilight makes in her search for knowledge of dragons and how they work, but is completely and utterly stumped and disheartened when she found one entry on dragons in the entire library that was more specific than a definition or a description.

Dragons are highly susceptible to depression should their hoard be stolen or lost. This is why most dragons will defend their hoards with their lives, often dying to protect it, because their lives are often not worth living without one.

That's it. That's all she found. Spike didn't lose his hoard, so the information is utterly useless. She lets out a wail of failure. There is a difference between a wail of despair, and one of failure. A wail of despair is what you give when you have no hope. A wail of failure is what you give when you have even less than that. Needless to say, Twilight is rather unhappy.

"I'll never fix thisss..." She sobs into the table. Spike looks at her, then looks at the calendar, then at the ceiling, then back at the calendar, back at her, and then with a jolt of shock, his head snaps back to the calendar. "Twilight, "He mutters in his now usual monotone, "You need to see this..."

Twilight groans, throwing her head back with many more tears, "What is it national 'Twilight Bucked Up' Day?!" Spike just stares at his crying sister, a bit uncomfortably, and after a pause, slowly begins, "...Noooo... BUT. In three days, the Dragon Migration will pass over Ponyville." Twilight's tears don't dry, or come anywhere close, but her ears perk up. "Dragon... Migration...?"

"Yes... I have heard of this before. There are a large number of dragons that fly over Equestria in the summer every... three years?" He flips through the long-term calendar. "Yes. Three years. If we follow them to their destination, we may find the answers we seek." Twilight still cries, but she has a big smile. "Thanks, Spike. I'll gather the girls tomorrow, and we'll see what they think. If they don't want to come, then I'll be there with you, don't worry."

"Hmm." He smiles gratefully, but his already black scales seem to darken. "There... is yet a problem. This... abnormal magic. If we do not get it under control as soon as possible, then... We may be in danger. It might be better to wait for three years to get these answers, than to get them now, and come back to find Ponyville in shambles, brambles, or possibly just as a pile of nothing but ash."

Twilight sucks air through her teeth, pupils contracting at the thought as she looks up at the ebony dragon, fearfully picturing the first, the second, the third, then all three at once. She shivers, and Spike grabs her before she can have another panic attack. He pats her head, running his claws through her dark blue mane, and sets her down when she's calm. "There is a third option. Knowing you, I might as well go ahead and do it."

He moves to a table, writes a short letter, then burns it. "You're contacting Celestia?" Twilight asks softly. Spike nods. "Yes. She will be here for the briefing tomorrow. I will inform Ms. Pie, and she will undoubtedly inform everyone." He pauses, then clarifies. "About the briefing, not Celestia. Ms. Pie will not know until she gets here." He moves to walk out the door, but pauses. "Do not concern yourself over the mess. I will fix that. Perhaps begin construction of a stable environment for practice? Maybe the basement? After all... Trying new spells tends to burn things. We live in a tree. Just put two and two together, Twilight. I'll be back." And with that, he walks out.

Author's Note

As promised, about... *Checks Clock* Three years ago! Wait. *Checks accurate clock* Two HOURS ago!
Yeah, I know, I know, I suck. BUT! ...Actually come to think of it, my only redeeming quality is that I can make spaghetti...
Surely I meet SOMEONE'S standards.

Gods be with you,
-Palladium